☉ Viinikanlahti master plan is a winning proposal by Noan Architecture Studio for City of Tampere in 2020. It is located in Tampere Finland in an industrial, railway and riverside setting. Its scale is extralarge with a surface of 199.647 sqm. Key materials are brick and wood.
Viinikanlahti will create a new neighbourhood in the city of Tampere with its own shoreline city identity.
At the same time, the area defines the new Southern edge of the city center and connects the shattered urban structure around it. The role as a connector is significant for the area. It connects the southern recreational arboretum shoreline parks to the city center and stretches the housing and services of the city center towards south.
The design is based on the three central elements of the identity of Tampere: the waterways in the city as a part of everyday life, the historical red brick buildings and the future identity of urbanity and high rises.
1. The design strengthens the presence of the waterways in the urban structures inherent to Tampere. With a versatile and fluctuating shoreline, the water is strongly present in the life of the residents, in the public plazas and in the city structure itself.
2. The area continues the recognizable series of historical red brick buildings starting from the city center and continuing towards south. Brick has been brought in as a central part of the new area as a modern interpretation of traditional brick architecture. The strong motif of the roofs creates a recognizable skyline for the neighborhood and gives a hint of its industrial and distinctive nature.
3. The Viinikanlahti area is a strong part of the future identity of Tampere. High volumes and the ambitious architecture of the area support the high-quality development of the city centre and the construction of a remarkable lakeside city.
The plan introduces a continuous public shoreline park running through the new area. This unified and unbroken green shoreline connects the area from East to West and introduces a sequence of various park areas and habitats together with the natural shoreline to the area.
Together with the soft natural edge created by the park areas, design introduces the built urban shoreline edge. The position of the urban and natural edges will change along the shoreline as well as the character of it. The soft green edge reflects the existing shoreline and the built edge allocates the urban shore areas eg. the harbour and the main plaza.
Smart landfill will play a key role to create this new neighborhood. By mostly following the current shoreline and focusing strategically the main landfill on one location the land usage is maximised while the volume of the landfill is minimized. A relatively small landfill allows for a fluent and efficient location for a pedestrian bridge across the bay, as well as creating a compact and easily controllable harbour.
The city structure is based on public transportation. The urban structure is focused along the Hatanpää highway and around the tram line, creating a dense city center -like an urban backbone for the area. The new urban structure is extended to a point where the new pedestrian bridge meets the new shoreline.
The design creates a characteristic and recognizable architecture and housing environment to the area. Viinikanlahti will be defined by its unique yet harmonious architecture. The variation in roofscapes and block typologies are focal elements in forming the characteristics of the neighborhood. Varying heights and functions of the roof level provide more views and places to enjoy the lake scenery.
On the ground level housing is strongly present, visible and interacting with the public space. The first floors’ garden terraces dominate the streetscape and on the rooftops, shared roof gardens bring life to the roof level.
Stormwater treatment is hardwired into the area working as a base for the landscape design in Viinikanlahti. The network of stormwater treatment elements is connected through the area into a seamless system of natural water treatment.